Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan (6 July 1736-6 July 1802) was a member of the US House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st district from 4 March 1797 to 3 March 1799, succeeding Robert Rutherford and preceding Robert Page. Morgan was best-known for his skills as a frontiersman during the American Revolutionary War, and he was the victor at the Battle of Freeman's Farm in 1777 and the Battle of Cowpens in 1781.

Biography
Daniel Morgan was born on 6 July 1736 in New Hampton, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, the grandson of Welsh immigrants on both sides. Morgan survived 499 lashes when he was sentenced to near-fatal punishment for punching his superior officer while serving in the British Army during the French and Indian War, and he took part in raids on the Shawnee tribe in the Ohio Country during Lord Dunmore's War. On 14 July 1775, he was given command of a rifle unit of the Continental Army at the start of the American Revolutionary War, and his company of "Morgan's Riflemen" proved themselves during the war. Morgan used dishonorable tactics such as ambushing the British Army and picking off officers, and he distinguished himself in the early stages of the war. Morgan was captured at the Battle of Quebec on 31 December 1775 along with 371 other American troops, and he would be exchanged in January 1777. Morgan was promoted to Colonel of the 11th Virginia Regiment as a reward for his bravery in Canada, and he harassed Major-General William Howe's army as it withdrew through New Jersey after June 1777. In late 1777, Morgan fought in the Saratoga campaign, and his riflemen were made famous for mauling James Inglis Hamilton's force at the Battle of Freeman's Farm and for killing General Simon Fraser at the Battle of Bemis Heights. Morgan was repeatedly passed over for promotion after the battle, and he resigned in 1779 before the battle of Camden in 1780 led to the Continental Congress requesting his return to the army. Morgan set up a direct confrontation with the feared Banastre Tarleton and his horsemen at the Battle of Cowpens on 17 January 1781, where he destroyed Tarleton's cavalry force. After the war, he served in the US House of Representatives in Virginia, and he died in 1802. Confederate States Army general John Hunt Morgan was descended from Daniel.